Blogging Everyday in July|Is it Hopeless to be Romantic?

Someone asked me to blog about what it means to be a hopeless romantic. Or maybe what I think the definition is. Which is possibly one of those things that I can’t quite grasp, so I looked it up. Google is telling me that a “hopeless romantic” is someone who loves love. Someone who believes in happy endings. Someone who wants a fairy tale. Someone who won’t give up. This makes me wonder, am I one?

I love love stories. I love when my friends find their person. It would be nice to have a person. But currently, I’m enjoying discovering myself. I don’t think I’m hopelessly romantic. I don’t expect anyone to go over the top to chase me down or woo me over. Life is not like the movies. But whenever I get to hear a crazy story about something someone has done for the person they love, it makes me glad I’m alive. Because I want a story. I want an adventure. But I want more than that.

Grand gestures probably exist. But I think they’re rare in this day and age because people are so afraid of getting let down. Most people spend so much time in the beginning of their relationship unsure if they’re actually in a relationship that they’re afraid to be romantic at all. And I can’t think of anyone actually following through on anything romantic involving me. That doesn’t mean that it’s something that belongs only in the movies though.

I think that by defining something as hopeless, we make it unreal. We make it something that people are afraid to be a part of. Why do a grand gesture to show how much someone means to you, how much you want to be with someone, if it’s hopeless? Romance is not hopeless; at least it shouldn’t be. It should just be romantic.

So maybe hopeless romantics don’t exist. Because they’re all still hopeful. Hopeful that the world will be a better place. Hopeful that someone will love them back. Hoping for a happy ending; or even better, no ending at all.